I'll bet you didn't realize how many different kinds of dictionaries there are! Each type has their own unique features and useful functions. From your textbook, especially read about:
Usage -
Abridged or Unabridged -
Coverage - Selective or Comprehensive
Special Features, Tables, Graphs - Hint: Look in the inside covers and
in the appendices, if any.
General Dictionaries
| ** Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. | Ref. PE1625.O87 or Computer File |
| ** Random House Dictionary of the English Language | Ref. PE1625.R3 |
| ** Webster's Third New International Dictionary of The English Language | Ref. PE1625.W36 |
| * 12,000 Words : A Supplement to Webster's Third New International Dictionary. | Ref. PE1630.A17 |
| * World Book Dictionary | Ref. PE1625.W73 |
Desk Dictionaries
| ** American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language | Ref. PE1628.A623 |
| ** Chambers English Dictionary | Ref. PE1628.C43 |
| ** Dictionary of Contemporary American Usage | Ref. PE2835.E84 |
| * Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary | Ref. PE1628.W4M4 |
| * The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | Ref. PE1580.C66 |
| * Dictionary of Modern English Usage | Ref. PE1628.F65 |
Slang Dictionaries
| ** Thesaurus of American Slang | Ref. PE2846.T47 |
| * Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English (Partridge) | Ref. PE3721.P322 |
| * Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions | Ref. PE2846.S63 |
Thesauri or Synonym Dictionaries
| ** Roget's II | Ref. PE1591.R737 |
| ** Webster's New Dictionary of Synonyms | Ref. PE1591 .W4 |
| * Roget's International Thesaurus | Ref. PE1591.R7 |
| * New American Roget's College Thesaurus | Ref. PE1591.N4 |
Special or Subject Dictionaries
| ** Acronyms, Initialisms, & Abbreviations Dictionary | Ref. PE1693 .G33 |
| * 20,000 Words Often Mispronounced | Ref. PE1137.P56 |
| # Foreignisms : A Dictionary of Foreign Expressions | Ref. PE1670.T8 |
| # The New Oxford Picture Dictionary | Ref. PE2835.P374 |
| # Dictionary of Symbols | Ref. BF1623.S9C513 |
| # Dictionary of Angels | Ref. BL477.D3 |
| # Words to Rhyme With | Ref. PE1519.E87 |
| # Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names | Ref. PE1137.P82 |
| # Glossary of Special Education | Ref. LC3986.G7G46 |
| # Dictionary of Social Science | Ref. H41.Z3 |
| # Facts-on-File Dictionary of Astronomy | Ref. QB14.F3 |
Reverse Dictionaries
| ** Bernstein's Reverse Dictionary | Ref. PE1591.B45 |
Foreign Language Dictionaries
| # Cassells Spanish-English, English-Spanish Dictionary | Ref. PC4640 .C35 |
| # Oxford Duden German Dictionary | Ref. PF3640.O94 |
| # Facts-on-File English/French Visual Dictionary | Ref. PC2640.C6 |
| # Cassell's New Latin Dictionary | Ref. PA2365.E5C3 |
| # Cassell's Italian Dictionary | Ref. PC1640 .C33 |
| # The Oxford-Duden Pictorial Serbo-Croat & English Dictionary | Ref. PG1377.O93 |
| # Colloquial Navaho : A Dictionary | Ref. PM2008 .Y59 |
| # The Oxford English-Russian Dictionary | Ref. PG2640.O9 1984 |
| # English-Maranao Dictionary | Ref. PL5957.Z5M3 |
Polyglot Dictionaries
| # Elsevier's Dictionary of Botany : In English, French, German, Latin, and Russian | Ref. QK9.E47 |
| # Vocabularium Bibliothecarii. English, French, German, Spanish, Russian | Book Stacks Z1006.T47 1962a |
Questions to consider:
Which dictionaries would be considered unabridged?
Which are concerned with etymology?
Which ones cover usage? Do they distinguish between words that are confusing to people?
Are there any special features that distinguishes one dictionary from
another?
Sample Questions for Dictionaries:
This word was in a book I’m reading and I don’t know what it means.
It’s “gibbosity.” Can you help?
I’m using the word “very” too many times in my research paper.
What other terms can I use?
Is there a word that I can use that means “playing a bagpipe?”
What’s the history of the word, “mutiny?”
What’s the earliest known use of the word, “taffy?”
What’s the difference between “definite” and “definitive?”